Having looked certainties for a top-three finish earlier in the season, Harry Redknapp has had to lower his sights markedly in the face of the club’s weak run of form. The 2-0 win against Blackburn on Sunday averted total disaster, but as midfielder Sandro admitted, the club now face three “cup finals” in order to maintain their slender advantage over Newcastle and Chelsea.

“The league is getting very tight now,” the Brazilian said. “The last three games will all be like cup finals for us. For sure, we can catch Arsenal and finish third. We know that we could finish fourth and not get into the Champions League if Chelsea win against Munich so that makes third place extra important.”

Tiredness could play a factor in the run-in and the immense pressure being exerted by the teams around them. At least Redknapp doesn’t have the England job to worry about any more, though.

Of the three teams in contention for fourth place, Newcastle have the toughest run-in of all: daunting trips to Stamford Bridge and Goodison Park and a home game against title-chasing Manchester City. Defeat against Chelsea tonight, having been thumped 4-0 by Wigan at the weekend, might well do irrevocable damage to their challenge. But with Papiss Cisse spearheading their attack, they remain a side that will always create chances.

Manager Alan Pardew said after Saturday’s game that he would be seeking a reaction from his players, and refused to give up the fight for fourth.

“Even if we lost, I wouldn’t concede defeat in that pursuit of fourth place,” he said. “Mathematically, it would still be possible. It’s never over until it’s over.” Were Newcastle to sneak into the Champions League, a measure of their achievement would be that bookmakers were offering odds of 100/1 on a top-four finish at the start of the season.

For all the celebrated successes of interim manager Roberto di Matteo, Chelsea are actually in a lower league position now than when he replaced Andre Villas Boas, having been overtaken by Newcastle after a run of just four wins in eight league games. But they play Newcastle tonight, and a victory would return to the top four for the first time since Di Matteo took over.

Di Matteo said yesterday that he believed all three sides had “equal chances”, even though his side had the additional burden of preparing for two cup finals. “We all have the same amount of games to play. We have been trying very hard to make up the distance on the clubs who were ahead of us, and we are in a good position now to be in that fourth spot. At the end of the season you play against teams that are fighting against relegation, and every game proves difficult.”